Sheridan's Steel is the Gatorade Wyo. Football Player of the Year

For the fifth time in the last six years, Sheridan has the Gatorade Wyoming Football Player of the Year. Senior Dane Steel was selected for the 2023-24 honor. In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company announced the winner on Wednesday. Steel is the 11th Gatorade Wyoming Football Player of the Year chosen from Sheridan High School.

The 5-11, 180-pound Steel led the Broncs to a 12-0 record and the Class 4A State Championship for the third consecutive season last fall. It was Sheridan’s 30th state title in program history. The senior receiver and defensive back caught 44 passes for 970 yards and nine touchdowns. Steel averaged 22.7 yards per catch. He added 368 yards rushing and eight TDs. The senior returned 23 punts for 488 yards and eight touchdowns. Steel also returned four kickoffs for 143 yards and one TD. On defense, Steel recorded 35 tackles and had six interceptions. He returned two of those for touchdowns. The senior also blocked a kick and recovered two fumbles. Steel was a unanimous choice for the Class 4A Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. The senior was one of only two 2-way players selected to the WyoPreps All-Championship Game team.

Steel also excels in two more sports. He’s a two-time state champion wrestler at 152 pounds and a two-time all-state honoree on the soccer field.

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In a release from The Gatorade Company, Natrona County head coach Steve Harshman was highly complementary of the Sheridan senior.

“Dane Steel is the kind of player every coach wants on his team. He comes from a lineage of hard workers, tough players, and committed teammates. He’s the type of player that will make your team successful on and off the field, and he’s a good choice for Gatorade Player of the Year.”

In the classroom, Steel maintains a weighted 4.14 GPA. He is a member of his school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter and a WHSAA Student Advisory Council member. Steel has volunteered as an adaptive physical education peer helper and on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America/WYO Rodeo Pancake Breakfast. He has also donated his time to Broncs youth football and wrestling camps in addition to setting up and breaking down the annual Gold Buckle Club for Sheridan WYO Rodeo.

Steel recently signed his NLI to play football at Montana State University.

This award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. It distinguishes Steel as Wyoming’s best high school football player. He is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award, which will be announced later this month.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $4.9 million across more than 1,600 organizations.

Steel joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Football Players of the Year Colson Coon (2021-22 and 2022-23) from Sheridan, Graedyn Buell (2020-21) from Cheyenne East, and Garrett Coon (2019-20) of Sheridan.

Information from a press release from The Gatorade Company was used in this story.